The Shine Media Awards

Recently, Sixth Sense, our college magazine, was crowned with various awards. Karen McCann, Editor-In-Chief of the nominated issue, reports on the award winning journey...
After we discovered the 'Shine School Media Awards' online, the day before deadline date, I rustled up some information about 'Sixth Sense' and quickly sent away the application.
A couple of weeks later, they contacted us, asking for more information about our work.
A couple of DAYS later, we were told we had been shortlisted in two categories: 'Most Enviromental' and 'Best Commercial Plan'.
To say we were overwhelmed is an understatement!
We didn't know if we would succeed towards the final, however, Steve received an email inviting us to the 'Stationers Guild' in London for the award ceremony!
WOW!
The day came of the awards and Abby, Jack, Steve and I all arrived bright an early, to Poulton train station, all dressed up and raring to go.
When we had completed the 3 hour journey to London, Steve took us on a sight seeing taxi tour until we reached the location: what an amazing place for the award.
The street in which printing first took place. Steve was so excited (not surprising since English A Level- Language Change, includes the original printing and how it was done... and Steve was at the home of it all!)
We were welcomed to refreshments and a personal tour of the building, seeing original stained glass and the first printed bible.
There was also numerous stalls which investors and supporters of the awards set up on and gave away freebies- the bamboo pen drive was my favourite. This gave us the opportunity to look over the other magazines in the final and get some inspiration and ideas about what competition we had.
Provided was a great buffet, with magicians (who showed us a tonne of mind-boggling tricks) and caricatures.
The awards started soon after.
It was exciting to see the winner and the work they had done, what the judges thought of their work and mostly, being all tense for when our sections were announced.
First was the 'Best Commercial Strategy', sadly we didn't get first prize, however we got a highly commended framed certificate.
Next, 'Most Enviromental', FIRST PLACE, beating 'St Paul's: Public school'- RESULT! I went up to achieve our Quark system and extremely heavy slate plaque.
We thought we were all done and dusted, being so proud of what we had already achieved...
But the Bronze award got announced: the presenter talking about the great content, business plan, college attitude and... ecological printing: WE HAD WON!
All 3 of us made our way to the stage, stunned! I swear I even saw Steve get a little emotional, or maybe my eyes were just blurred with shock!
Thats £1000 for the magazine kitty, basically refunding the funds we devoured over our years running- Johnny, you'll be please now! AND, a workshop at the Times Education Supplement- CRAZY!
We really were on cloud 9, so proud: the other schools came an congratulated us after the ceremony, saying how well we had done- and we really, really had done well!
The rest of the day was spent lugging around massive plaques (which were so back breaking, but was a good pain, because it proved our hard work.)
We celebrated over a bottle of bubbly outside St Paul's cathedral, ringing the other English faculty, families and updating our Facebooks!
Dinner at Maxwells, resulted in us being a minute too late for our train, having to wait a hour til the next one- we didn't care, besides the 29 degree temperature, leaving us with drips of sweat (attractive, eh?) we didn't mind the wait, it gave us more time to talk about our success.

Battle of the Bands

On Tuesday 24th of May, I was fortunate enough to attend this brilliant event, staged by the music students of our very own Blackpool Sixth Form in the Holland music room. Over the course of the night I met with parents, judges and students and even ended up sitting in the waiting room and feeling like a music student!

Before the first band set up, Matt Jones, teacher of performing arts, took centre stage and formally introduced the eager crowd to the nights events. 3 judges who would score based on their musical skill, stage presence and audience interaction. Matt also told the audience who these 3 judges were. Kerry Kirkwood- Deputy head of our college. Mr. Rapp- a music teacher with the best name for his job, visiting from St. Aidans high school. And finally John Robb- A T.V. personality, author, music journalist AND singer!

As if that wasn't enough, Matt told us that 2 local high schools, Palatine and Fleetwood, were supporting the event and also performing at the beginning, before our students, and at the end, after our students.

The supporting acts performed valiantly and really warmed up the crowd for when the real action started.

Then came the first contestants, Assignment Deadline, named after their inability to keep to one! After an impressive rendition of Fireflies by Owl City and Brainstew by Greenday, the band returned to the waiting room.

After 2 performances from The Winners (That was their bands name, not the outcome! Or was it?) a band called Einsteins Goldfish took charge who, in my opinion, were contenders to win...

The evening went on and we came to the interval, in which refreshments were available, including crisps for 60p. I didn't take any money so couldn't have any savory snacks, but that didn't bother me. Instead I talked to the audience. (Some may say harassed...)

'Marvelous' screamed one parent, in between guzzling down her Coke. Another announced 'I have a bangin' headache'

As I am not a music student, I learned that I am incapable of rating the musicality of the evenings performances. In order to get a better insight into what was going on, I made a few 'back-alley' deals and had a few quiet words with the organisers, namely Jennifer Waterworth, the fabulous music teacher. To cut a harrowing story down, I took siege of the waiting room, which had an excellent side view of the stage!

The second half finally began.

The crisps left over from the interval were given to the performers in the waiting room and, feeling like Jack Sparrow, I was handed a packet for free! Savvy!?

The most notable performance (to me) was a rock version of Ke$ha's 'TiK ToK by Damnsure'. The waiting room went wild, and I hear from my friends, fellow students Sara Rothwell and Jennifer McCowen, that the audience also went wild! (While remaining seating, and merely tapping their foot to the heavy baseline...)

When the performers had finally finished, it was time for the winners to be announced. The atmosphere was tense and you could smell the excitement! (Or was that the salt and vinegar?)

Set The Night Alight won. Band members Lucia Rojek, Reece Clayton and Tom Wickenden had another go on the mic and Set The house Alight! Towards the end, their fellow music students took to the stage to cheer them on as they belted out their last song, an original composition of 1964.

Well done say I.

Written by Johnny Blackburn

Is cycling the new sliced bread?

Cycling. A healthy, efficient mode of transport, and a great alternative to the environmentally harmful motor vehicles that so many people choose to use. However, it is a concept that, at a place like Blackpool Sixth Form, is almost non-existent; it is like a myth that is only known to a diminutive minority of the college population. It was recorded that the biking bay contained just 25 bicycles during one day, meaning that 1.3% of students used a bicycle as transport.

           Understandable, considering how eager young people are to revel in their first experiences behind the wheel. But, in this current climate of extremely expensive insurance and fuel, now is the time to make cycling as appealing as possible. Not just for students, but for everyone.  

           I myself am part of the minority that chooses the route of cycling, since my hometown of Poulton is just a mile or so away. By doing this, I now understand why students might choose to neglect this mode of transport. During the whole journey, there is just one cycle lane that is available. Just when you think you are safe and comfortable in this designated lane, it suddenly vanishes and immediately the vulnerable cyclist is heading helplessly for a daunting, murderous roundabout, abundant in vehicles rushing to work. It reminds me of being caught in crossfire.  Along with this, there are the narrow, treacherous bends and to finish it off, right outside the college there is an array of parked vehicles on either side of the road, leaving precious little room in between for cyclists and two sets of traffic. 

          All this combined becomes a perilous journey for any cyclist, and it is not just this route that is lacking in cycle lanes.

           With cycling becoming an increasingly promoted prospect in England, hopefully Blackpool Council will change this issue of cycle lanes. Already they have introduced new regimes such as the so called HUBs, which contain available bikes for the public and are designated along the promenade. This is a brilliant new regime- for people who want to go sight-seeing on the promenade. But how about the majority of people who need to travel to work everyday? There is no doubt that a lack of cycle lanes makes this method of travelling a lot more dangerous and deterring, and hopefully action will be taken to change this for the better.

           

Written by Cameron Woodall.

Holland photos!

This easter, our music students, upper sixth and lower, took Holland by storm, where theyperformed at local concerts and even stopped off to relax sometimes. You can see the experience by these photos, taken by music and photgraphy student, Danika Sheals.

                             The girls take in the magnificent view from their hotel room

                                              Our students performing

                                                             More performing

                                                         STILL performing...

                                               Did they do anything but perform?

 

                                                            Solo time!

                                                     Finally, the're not performing!

                                                             ...I spoke too soon.

                                                       'I am the music man...'

                                                   Barbarshop quartet

                                                      Back to performing

                                            perform, perform, perform....

                                        Well at least they were productive

                                               ...and it looks like they had a great time!

Vampires suck!

              Fact: Evermore by Alyson Noel is the worst book ever to have been written.  I can forgive the ‘Twilight” series, and even the entire “Vampire Diaries” books. But I draw the line at these atrocious ‘novels’.  I understand that teenage girls crave a sense of fantasy now and again to escape the monotony of everyday life, I really do. But seriously, another one? It really would be more economical to just buy a copy of “Twilight” and read it copious amounts of times.  You’re not missing out on anything new, and you’re saving a few trees along the way. My point is this: there really is a limit to how much you can write about a vampire.

        I say ‘novel’ with a particular sense of sarcasm, because if you are fortunate enough to have ever read any of the delightful “Twilight” saga, then a read of Evermore will not come to much of a surprise to you. The ‘novel’ follows Ever, a teenage psychic, who has tragically lost her family in a freakish accident… where only she survived. (Shock, horror)

Ever, trying to drown out her new psychic powers by listening to loud music and covering herself with hooded sweatshirts and sunglasses, feels a sudden and overwhelming connection to Damen, the too-good-to-be true new guy at school. Unlike the other people she has encountered since the accident she somehow survived, she cannot see his aura or hear his thoughts. It is clear from the start that something is not quite normal with Damen.

He does not seem to eat or sleep, conjures flowers, and has the uncanny ability to seem to know what Ever is thinking. (Sounds conveniently like “Twilight” to me)

       If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past couple of years, you’ll almost certainly know about the vampire craze that’s hit the globe. At first I could tolerate it, but now it really is becoming boring. You can’t walk into a shop without being bombarded with mugs, t-shirts, and shoes, with all the faces (and other parts) of Robert Pattinson and

Taylor Lautner: the guys that the whole world are in love with after their appearance in the “Twilight” movies. 

      I may be wandering slightly off the point here, but what I’m trying to say is that authors like Alyson Noel and L.J Smith (Vampire Diaries) are all leeching glory off Stephenie Meyer, and avoiding any originality whatsoever in their own ‘novels’.  If you don’t believe me… check this out:

And I gazed at the guy leaning over me, looking into his dark eyes and whispered, 

 “I’m Ever,”

Before passing out again.

Wow. Genius. I don’t know what impresses me more, the enigmatical vocabulary used by Noel, or her original plot line.

        If you really insist on obsessing over the un-dead, then why not at least read a classic? Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a perfect choice. It’s an enthralling, epistolary novel with enough antiquated language to get you lost in the book for days. It’s a bit more challenging to read, but surely that’s a good thing? It’s better to feel a sense of accomplishment and wonder over a novel, than being a bit disappointed. Take a look:

When the attendants rushed in, and we turned our attention to him, his employment positively sickened me. He was lying on his belly on the floor licking up, like a dog, the blood, which had fallen from my wounded wrist. He was easily secured, and to my surprise, went with the attendants quite placidly, simply repeating over and over again, “The blood is the life! The blood is the life!”

         See. No wasted words, just great succinct writing. What’s great about Dracula, is that Stoker focuses more on the primal urges vampires have about blood. Whereas Noel rambles on about pointless psychic abilities, that as readers, no one really cares about. Let’s be honest.

       I read this book from beginning to end. And now, as I flick back through the book, desperately trying to find something positive to report to you I find myself exasperated by my conclusion… there isn’t anything. Well, maybe that’s not true. In all truth, this novel does have one thing going for it: it’s dreadful. So dreadful in fact that it’s almost comical, so don’t worry. After you’ve read this phenomenal piece of literature, there are another 5. I don’t know about you, but I just can’t wait.

       

Written by Steph Rawlinson for her English Language coursework.

Tangerines on tour- Roma 2011!

In March 2011, together with my fellow tangerines, who study Humanities courses at Blackpool Sixth, we embarked on our fact finding trip to Rome.

We travelled through the night on our luxurious coach to our destination, Bristol international airport, where we were to catch our flight to sunny Ciampino airport in Roma!

Over three days we were lucky enough to savour the atmosphere and visit many world renowned historic sites, for example, on the first day we saw Bernini’s ecstasy of St. Teresa, I think I speak for everyone when I say it was truly angelic. We had a three course meal at the Archi Romani restaurant and afterwards we witnessed the beauty of the Trevi fountain at night!

On the second day, we travelled to Vatican City where we had a tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel, gazing at Michael Angelo’s “The last day of judgement” and “The creation of Adam” was surreal, it was simply astonishing! Later we saw St. Peter’s Basilica, Bernini’s 98ft canopy towered over us tangerines leaving us awestruck!

Later we visited the Parthenon, a must-see for any Classics enthusiast, signing my name in the visitor’s book made me feel like I was part of history!

On the final day, we visited the Coliseum, gazing upon the rubble which was once the battle ground I could almost imagine the gladiatorial combats that once took place in the arena. The Palatine Hill, home to Romulus and Remus, was very memorable as the remnants of a bygone era were still visible.

Finally, we attended the Angelus in St Peter’s Square on the Sunday. We received a blessing from Pope Benedict XVI which was a tremendous experience.

Us tangerines had participated in a once in a life time experience, that we shall never forget!

On behalf of my fellow students, I would like to thank our tutors Louise, Ben, Charlie, and Lee for making the trip possible!

You can view a photo gallery from the visit on the Sixth Form Website by clicking here.

Report by Lucy Mudie
Student Council Member and student of Classical Civilisation, Religion, Ethics and Philosophy, English Literature, French and Critical Thinking

World Book Night

On Wednesday 9th March, the avid readers of the Book Club rec were visited in the Fyi by a young aspiring writer with a passion to share reading and to encourage young people to read. Her name: Danielle Rose. 

Danielle started the session of Book Club by telling us about herself and what she does for the World Book Night event. 

Danielle is currently studying English at university. She enjoys creative writing, especially poetry, and she belongs to Blackpool’s Dead Good Poets’ Society where she and other members perform a selection of poems. Danielle’s kind of poetry, as she herself described it, is “ A copy of Cosmopolitan magazine digested and then thrown back up” in which she tells the world of stalking boys and living as a shop-a-holic.

Danielle then went on to tell us what World Book Night does and how she became involved with the national event. Danielle got involved with the group almost a year ago and helps distribute books to local schools and colleges. The books are then passed on and can be tracked with a unique number on the BookCrossing website. 

To release your own book into the old world of book sharing then head to:
http://www.bookcrossing.com and get sharing. “Our community is changing the world and touching lives one book at a time.”

Written by Sara-Anne Anderson



The book club and their guest. (From left Danielle Rose ex-pupil of Blackpool Sixth, Cerridwen Lee, Kyle Hayman, Laura Fairclough, Johnny Blackburn, Sara-Anne Anderson, Tricia McCallum, Lewis Kelly, Andrew Whitehead, Sam Armistead, Kelsey-Marie Wilson, Jonathan Ratcliffe)